Leading up to UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem, many folks figured they had the main event figured out pretty well. Brock Lesnar is a poor striker who would have to wrestle to pick up the win, while it was very likely that Alistair Overeem would use his vaunted status as a K-1 Champion to batter Lesnar into a TKO before any wrestling can actually be done. Well, a could of knees to the body, punches to the head and a sweet liver kick, the prevailing theory of Overeem picking up a quick TKO victory came true.
So why are so many people acting as though there is some kind of funny business going on?
To explain, there are folks commenting all over about how Lesnar didn't look like he was really there to fight, and have insinuating that the UFC fixed the fight in favor of Overeem, paying Brock to lose before he retires, whether it means he's gone from the public eye, or gone for different things, such as the WWE. Not only are those insinuations far-fetched in their inception, they're also ridiculously idiotic in their application. How about we take a good look at some of the truths, yes?
For one, how about we all agree that Dana White and the UFC wanted Alistair Overeem to win on Friday? Is that a fair assessment? It probably is, considering that, even if Lesnar won, most assumed he wasn't long for the sport. Add to that the fact that the guy embarrassingly turtled up in his last fight and actually ran from Cain Velasquez, and you get a fighter that is unappealing and disappointing to counter-act the potential new audience he'd attract. So yes, sure, White wanted Overeem to win.
But how do you go from that to immediately assuming a fixed fight?
Was the fight easier for Overeem because Lesnar wasn't trying 100% to win? That's certainly a possibility, but why does that have to come back to White and the UFC? The whole crux of Lesnar's retirement is based on the fact that he wants to move on, doesn't like the public, and certainly doesn't like to get hit in the face really damn hard. In other words, sure Overeem may have beaten a fighter that wasn't really putting all of his effort into trying to win, but that's almost certainly due to Lesnar and Lesnar alone.
Lesnar was distracted, distant and seemed to lack any kind of concentration or dedication to beating Overeem. That comes from Lesnar's own mind though, and does not at all enforce any kind of conspiracy theory regarding "the fix." Before the fight, people imagined that Overeem was going to maul Lesnar, who would crumple, and that's exactly what happened. Call it open and shut.